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Westgate shopping mall shooting
On 21 September 2013, unidentified gunmen attacked the upscale Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya. The attack, lasting until 24 September, resulted in at least 72 deaths, including 61 civilians, 6 Kenyan soldiers and 5 attackers. The attackers held hostages and later engaged in gun battles with Kenyan security forces. Over 200 people were reportedly wounded in the mass shooting. The Islamist group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the incident, which it characterised as retribution for the Kenyan military's deployment in Somalia. Many media outlets also suspected the insurgent group's involvement in the attack based on earlier reprisal warnings it had issued in the wake of Operation Linda Nchi from 2011 to 2012. Background The incident followed threats from Al-Shabaab in late 2011 of attacks in Kenya in retaliation for Linda Nchi, a coordinated military operation in southern Somalia that was launched against the group by the Somalian military and Kenyan military. One week before the incident and a month after United Nations warnings of possible attacks, Kenyan police claimed to have disrupted a major attack in its final stages of planning after arresting two people with suicide vests packed with ball bearings, grenades, and AK-47 assault rifles. The two suspects were from a Nairobi neighbourhood where Somali immigrants reside. A manhunt was also launched for eight more suspects. The Sunday Telegraph claimed that it had seen United Nations documents that warned last month that the threat of an "attempted large-scale attack" in Kenya was "elevated." The country was celebrating the International Day of Peace when the incident took place. Shootings and initial siege On 21 September 2013, at about noon, between 10 and 15 masked assailants attacked the upscale Westgate shopping mall in Westlands district. The fighting with armed police was ongoing over 48 hours later. The gunmen reportedly carried assault rifles and wore combat fatigues. There were additional reports of grenade explosions. Police surrounded the area and urged residents to stay away. A report indicated that about 80 people were trapped in the basement, but police said that they had escorted some shoppers to safety and were trying to capture the gunmen. The Secretary-General of the Kenyan Red Cross, Abbas Gullet, said that rescue workers could not reach some of the patrons in the mall. Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo wrote that there were "police at the scene and the area is surrounded." Rob Vandijk, an employee of the Dutch embassy, said that while he was eating at a restaurant the attack commenced with grenades and was then followed by gunfire as patrons screamed as they dropped to the ground. Other witnesses said the attack began at the outdoor seating area of Artcaffe at the front of the mall. An Artcaffe employee, Patrick Kuria, said: "We started by hearing gunshots downstairs and outside. Later we heard them come inside. We took cover. Then we saw two gunmen wearing black turbans. I saw them shoot." Some of the casualties were shot at the entrance to the mall after gunfire moved outside and a stand-off then commenced with police. Ambulances were present at the mall as they started moving emerging victims. Reports indicated the presence of children, including patrons carrying small children. Mall security guards used shopping carts to ferry out wounded children. Yariv Kedar said that he was at lunch when he heard the firing. Nation TV footage showed dozens of people escaping from a back entrance. Bloomberg correspondent Marco Lui was on the second floor of the mall when the attack started; he said that two explosions happened within about five minutes of each other. "We heard a noise from the ground floor and people started running to the parking area on the rooftop. They were panicking and then the second blast went off and people were even more panicked." Other eyewitnesses said that in addition to grenades, the attackers used AK-47s. Twenty people were rescued from a toy shop on the upper floor. As the Kenyan army troops arrived, they used tear gas to try to smoke out the attackers from the cinema complex. Vehicles riddled with bullet holes were left abandoned in front of the mall. Kimaiyo said: "Our officers are on the ground carrying out an evacuation of those inside as they search for the attackers who are said to be inside." A police officer said that the gunmen were barricaded inside the Nakumatt supermarket. He indicated that there were three bodies there while he pointed to a pool of blood by a children's shoe shop. He then pointed to an hamburger bar where music still played and indicated more bodies were found there. Category:Attacks Category:2013 Category:Africa